Another down day as we transferred from our city San Ignacio Hotel, to our jungle Gumbo Limbo hotel. Kate checked us out at the front desk and warned Marlynn that she’d told Gerald about her, and was trying to set them up. Marlynn blushed and said it wasn’t the first time. Before we left town, we decided to stop at another local restaurant for breakfast. The recommendation this time was Pop’s. It was easy to find, but quite tiny and all tables were full. We noticed this impressive parking job on the drive in, so killed some time walking back to admire it, straddling a deep open sewer gutter. Note the no parking sign.
Soon a table had cleared and we were seated. Our order was in quickly, and as before, I was unimpressed with local fair. But again, this was breakfast, so how local can things really be? We did have their Fry Jacks, which are just deep fried bread, with air pockets. The locals were loading them up with refried beans. Jane caught this photo of the town mural at the old town square just before the old bridge.
The trek to Gumbo Limbo was only 5 miles down the Western highway, and 2 miles off the highway. We had intended to stop at the store and grab bug dope on our way out of town, but by the time we remembered, it was too late. We were nearly to Gumbo Limbo. The road off the highway wasn’t bad. The driveway into Gumbo Limbo, however was something else. On dry days it was traversable with a normal car, but on wet days 4 wheel drive was near necessity as it got severely slick and had a steep ditch to descend and then ascend. In fact, later in our stay a driver arrived to take 2 of the guests to the airport. He got stuck at the bottom of that ravine and walked the rest of the way in. We had 4 wheel drive and drove back out. With passengers in the back, and more weight on the rear axle, he was able to take another run at the drive and made the slipper ascent, his wheels spinning the entire time. We arrived at Gumbo an hour before our 1 pm check in. Kate decided to stay in the car with the kids to avoid bugs. I jumped out and was immediately greeted by Mike and Jenny, our hosts. I spoke of Kate’s bug fears and they immediately offered their ‘tin’ of bug spray, ‘tin’ as they were British ex-pats.. But assured us they’d been their ten years and had only heard of one bout of malaria and that was in the deep jungle. The stiff breeze meant we were completely bug free, and Kate and the kids joined me as we carried our bags to our cabana. Mike explained that they were off the grid by choice, he didn’t want them cutting through his bush to deliver electrical lines. So they had solar, wind, and a backup generator to meet electrical needs. He emphasized to us and our kids how important it was to turn off our lights and fans when not in use, and I appreciated the kids hearing and learning that despite what they might think, electricity is never free. Even in the States, where we consume it to the point of obesity, there are hidden costs. They’d spent the last 10 years of their retirement building Gumbo Limbo. Jenny told us that they’d started the new concrete form walks this last fall, just she and Mike. One of their hired hands had taken over most of the work and had become an expert.
After some sunscreen, The kids jumped into the small pool, while Kate read and I took a quick nap. After I woke, I joined them in the not quite as cold pool, for more Marco Polo. Maeve spotted this monster caterpillar, nearly as large as her foot, on the pool deck.
We finished the evening with a terrific meal of Seabass at Gumbo LImbo, served to us with a smile by Emmie. There are folks that have hospitatlity, I think they are more born that way, than anything. Just considerate of others, and more concerned with their comfort than their own. Just a God given quality. Nearly everyone we met seemed to have this quality, but some were superstars. We met many of these superstars on our stays here in Belize.
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